The Blog

The season is officially upon us & to ease the gift giving guessing game I have been putting together  some gift guides & over the next few weeks I will be revealing them.

If you are like me you have most likely been invited to a cocktail party or two & you certainly
 don’t want to show up empty handed.

Here are my gift giving ideas of the Hostess with the Mostess!

glitter spoons / gemstone magnets /
salt & pepper shakers / geode note cards /  candle

Who can resist the pleasant scent of a Jo Malone candle & when in doubt a bottle of Moet will also do the trick!

Until tomorrow.

I was indulging in a new store – online – Property Furniture in NYC & also discovered a new (to me) British designer, maybe you have heard of him.

What I found looking at Lee’s products, many collaborations & interiors is that his works give a hand to tradition & there is just enough pull to the contemporary side to create a perfect marriage.

To see the full spectrum of Lee’s talents click here.

Stay warm today.

My Christmas Wish List now includes something fun to go & do!
Tickets to go & see one of my favourite singer / songwriter / bands thanks to a concert announcement earlier this week.

I love me some Dallas Green!

The concert is not until May 9, 2014, here in Toronto, but I will patiently wait.

Here is a song form the new album.

Husband if you are reading this, this gift will get you some serious brownie points!

Have an awesome weekend friends.

I’ve been inspired by these ladies.
They’ve got my mind a racing a million miles per hour.

Let’s begin with Erin over at Design Crisis shall we.
I am dying over her living room! I’m not sure what I love more, the sofa & chair with the outer wood detailing & the shiny chrome legs, the rug, the art over the sofa – with a hole in it I might add – I like that too, maybe it’s been places & has stories to tell!
Now the walls, they are not a colour which has never been in my repertoire, but I will need to reconsider it.
I think it is simply smashing!

Erin also participated in the 6 week Design Challenge. She chose her dinette area & in my humble opinion, she knocked it out of the park again with her fearless use of colour & mixing of design styles. The bench fabric, the chandy & the hide are my faves.

& everything on the table top was thrifted to boot!

Jenny killed it with her awesome jellyfish inspired art – I feel a project coming on!

This Christmas ornament that Abby painted has, just added another holiday project to my list, but think black & white.

The headboard & pillow colours in Julie’s bedroom makeover have me yearning for rich blues & purples…together.

I’m seeing one of my clients tomorrow & am having to source an alternate to this budget busting Barbra Barry fabric for her kitchen drapery.
Although it’s the perfect one for the space, the the price is not!

It is showing up as very creamy yellow, but it’s actually a beautiful soft creamy white.
However, here are a few of my alternates.

This textured linen from JFFabrics is a possibility.

My other idea is to have a solid linen with this 3″ decorative tapes added down the lead edges & bottom of the panels.

Sourcing must continue, so that’s all for now.
Come back tomorrow to see newest item added to my Christmas Wish List.

Good Morning.
This is going to be short & sweet as I have a mile long list of thing to do before work, so here we go.

It’s time for me to reveal item #8 on my Christmas Wish List.

Meet Sophia….

If you read yesterdays post, you know that I have a little makeover planned for our foyer / staircase. One of my hopes is to replace the pot lights with something more decorative & pretty & this Alexa Hampton number sure fits the bill.

Have a wonderful weekend.

I mentioned here a while back that we have plans of one day replacing the staircase & all of the hardwood  throughout the house to match what we used in our master bedroom.

Honestly the “orangey” tone of the current stain is really bugging me, like major, but I will keep the existing leopard runner we currently have – I still love it.

So to tie us over, I have a few different ideas going on in my head, to update the staircase / foyer.

In addition to the stairs I’m thinking of a pretty ceiling fixture, having the doors in the space painted black, adding to the gallery wall, maybe changing out the door hinges from brass to black & replace the satin nickel scrolly door handles to a simpler black oval knobs & possibly adding a back plate.

My first thought is to paint it the stringer, risers & spindles white and having the treads & the railing painted a lovely shade of black, like these. 

Option #2 is that the spindles go black too.

Idea #3 is to have everything painted out white like this.

Then this space created by the cool Kelly Weastler keeps creeping into my mind.
All black.

What are you thoughts? What’s happening on your stairs? 

I’ve gotta make a decision soon, so I can get this done before the holidays.

While cruising through my local HomeSense I found so many great pieces, some I would tweak & others were great as they were.

This wooden beaded chandelier was just $149.

I know that with some white spray paint & twine, 

it could look a little like this & this one comes with a $3500 price tag! 

This pink chair was hard to leave behind, it was reduced to only $175.  The shape of the arm and the antique brass nailhead detailing lured me in. I thought that it would be the perfect addition to B’s room, but a small room means – there’s no room for big chairs!

I’m always looking for sculptural items for display, to add to a bookshelf or to top off a stack of coffee table books. 

This gold coral piece caught my eye for it’s shape & texture. I’d want to see it in either black or white matte finish, but for $34 I would take it & transform it into something that looks like this.

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Happy Hump Day.

Good Morning Peeps, short & sweet is where it’s at today.

Did you see the tablecloth Danielle whipped up for a meer $6. It’s amazing!

I will try my hand at this or something similar, to go along with the Black & White Christmas I have planned for this year.

This barcart from Charles Hollis Jones  – also knows as Mr. Lucite – caught my eye not only for its retro cool vibe but for the use of lucite & brass together – one of my fave combinations.

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This bone burst chest from Ashely Childers’ online shop Emporium Home is to die for. I love the contrast of the wood edge with the bone inlay, the barley there knobs & shapely legs. These would make lovely bedside chests or be perfect storage in a small foyer.

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Lastly, this print, Polka Rain by Karen Hofstetter has me tickled, it might just get added to my Christmas Wish List.

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Well that’s it for today see ya’ll tomorrow.

Today is my anniversary.
I can’t believe this guy & I got hitched 13 years ago.

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching lately & really trying to figure out what I want to do with my career. 

I am what seems like the only business to not have a website!
So that’s going to happen & it will be a direct link to my blog & to my shop, then the obvious portfolio images, services, my design philosophy etc. I figure that if I will be going with this full time – not just part time like I have been – then let’s just go balls to the wall & do it right!

Here is what I’m not completely sure about. 

Do I keep my shop through Etsy or have my own? 

I also want to have one name. I currently have a business name, another name for my blog, another name for my Etsy shop, & then the same user name for twitter etc. I’ve got to streamline it all, simplify & go by one name for everything, right?

There is so much to think about when trying to brand yourself, it’s kind of overwhelming, so God Bless the poor soul who is going to attack this with me.

I second that!

Have a great Monday friends.